Outline of Christopher's notes for the memorial service presentation . . .
- Frank Randy Perez, my Dad.
- My dad was a good man, he loved to entertain, feed and care for the people around him.
- Born February 19, 1941 in Los Angeles to parents Frank Ramos Perez and Mary Jane Riddler
(that is an interesting story that Janice will tell you about)
- Younger sister, Susan Buddles, who passed away in January of this year and younger brother James Paris
- Three half-brothers: Gary, Ronald, and Dean Perez
- 8 grandkids, and that was truly his joy.
- Joined the Navy in 1959 and left in 1963. He then began a job with Pacific Bell Telephone Company where he worked for over 30 years.
- Moved into management & frequently conducted meetings using his uncanny command of the English language.
- Passed down some of that to me.
- Surprising thing about my dad . . . he couldn't comprehend why people didn't understand his wordsmithing.
- Examples: turn on lights which means turn off lights, open door which means close door, or he might even say turn off the fridge, we didn't always listen.
- Who knew . . . but over the years we all just understood him.
- Married to my mother, Lisa Layton, in 1964 and they were married for almost 20 years
- Biggest Accomplishment . . . you're looking at him
Oh . . . and maybe my little sister, Cindy, too.
- In 1973 he received an associate degree, and at age 50, he got his bachelor's degree.
- Something many of you may not know is that my dad had an amazing gift for memorizing material, which was how he made it through the high school years since he knew very little English.
- He was active in his community through an organization called the Jaycees for many years.
- I see some Jaycee friends here today.
- We went to lunch at Chuy's with my dad's friends . . .
- I was talking with one of his friends, Joe Pohlmeier, he said to me "your dad is a good man"
- At that time in my life, it really meant a lot to me to hear that about my dad.
- In 1988, he married Janice Brenneisen Oberosler, and they were married for 27 years.
- He enjoyed many hobbies such as tennis, skiing, and golf.
- With his hobbies he went all in . . . all in.
- Tennis . . . equipment was everything. If one racket didn't work, go out and buy another, and then another.
- No different with his skiing and golfing.
- In October 2002, I had the privilege, actually one of the greatest privileges of my life, of baptizing my father at a Cornerstone Men's Retreat
- It meant so much to me to see my dad embrace Jesus Christ 100% and that's why I know he is with the Lord today.
- He enjoyed being an usher here at Cornerstone for many years
- Recently, Francis Chan mentioned to me that he remembers my dad being the first face he'd see on Sunday mornings. Doesn’t surprise me because my dad was a half an hour to an hour early for everything.
- My dad passed away at his home with Janice holding his hand on Monday, September 14, 2015 - after a 1-1/2 year long fight with bladder cancer
- That is a small snapshot of my dad's life. I hope I honored him. Thank you for listening.